Yankees' Tanaka set to return Sunday; Girardi hopeful he can make multiple starts

New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka is expected to return Sunday after missing more than two months with a torn elbow ligament, and manager Joe Girardi is optimistic the 25-year-old can take the ball one more time before the season ends.

“If everything goes well Sunday he will start again,’’ Joe Girardi told the New York Post before the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over Toronto on Friday.

Tanaka landed on the disabled list in July with a small tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, but the Japanese expatriate opted for rest and rehab rather than Tommy John surgery. 

“Anytime someone talks about (the elbow), there is a high level of concern. There is always the fear that you are going to have surgery fairly quickly like (Ivan) Nova did,’’ Girardi said. “But so far everything has been good in his rehab and we have been able to avoid (surgery). We hope it continues and we are going to find out a lot more in the next eight days.’’

Tanaka will be on a 70-75 pitch limit for Sunday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, and only after his outing will Girardi determine when (or if) he'll make a subsequent start.

“Let’s see where we are at and how he does on Sunday,’’ Girardi said. “My initial inkling would be on his sixth day.’’